Warning Against the Adulterous Woman
Proverbs 7:1-27
- What did it mean to the original reader or original audience?
- What would you do for a fun night out on the town? Where would you go? With whom?
- Where do you go to have fun without "wine, women or song"? Why there?
- Which TV ads get your attention and why? What sales pitch jingle rings in your mind most often?
#People = Solomon, The Wise, The Foolish, The Simple, Sinners, The Wise Father (the narrator), The Naive Young Man, The Adulterous Woman
#Time =
#Place = The Home, The Streets, The Adulterous Woman's House
#Obedient faith
#Sin Adultery,
#Key Idea Wisdom
Warning
Against the Adulteress
7 My son, keep
my words
and treasure up my commandments with you;
2 keep my
commandments and live;
keep my teaching as the apple of your eye;
3 bind them on
your fingers;
write them on the tablet of your heart.
4 Say to wisdom,
“You are my sister,”
and call insight your intimate friend,
5 to keep you
from the forbidden woman,
from the adulteress with her smooth words.
6 For
at the window of my house
I have looked out through my lattice,
7 and I have
seen among the simple,
I have perceived among the youths,
a young man lacking sense,
8 passing along
the street near her corner,
taking the road to her house
9 in the
twilight, in the evening,
at the time of night and darkness.
10 And
behold, the woman meets him,
dressed as a prostitute, wily of heart.
11 She
is loud and wayward;
her feet do not stay at home;
12 now in the
street, now in the market,
and at every corner she lies in wait.
13 She seizes
him and kisses him,
and with bold face she says to him,
14 “I had
to offer sacrifices,
and today I have paid my vows;
15 so now I have
come out to meet you,
to seek you eagerly, and I have found you.
16 I have spread
my couch with coverings,
colored linens from Egyptian linen;
17 I have perfumed
my bed with myrrh,
aloes, and cinnamon.
18 Come, let us
take our fill of love till morning;
let us delight ourselves with love.
19 For my
husband is not at home;
he has gone on a long journey;
20 he took a bag
of money with him;
at full moon he will come home.”
21 With
much seductive speech she persuades him;
with her smooth talk she compels him.
22 All at once
he follows her,
as an ox goes to the slaughter,
or as a stag is caught fast
23 till
an arrow pierces its liver;
as a bird rushes into a snare;
he does not know that it will cost him his life.
24 And now,
O sons, listen to me,
and be attentive to the words of my mouth.
25 Let not your
heart turn aside to her ways;
do not stray into her paths,
26 for many a victim
has she laid low,
and all her slain are a mighty throng.
27 Her house
is the way to Sheol,
going down to the chambers of death.
- God is ... What do we learn about God in this passage?
- We are ... What do we learn about people in this passage?
- What would you underscore if you were to set this chapter to music? Where would you introduce dissonance? Cymbals? Harp? Drum roll? Resolution?
- What is meant by the "apple of your eye"? Why is it used here (v. 2)?
- What is meant by "write them on the tablet of your heart" (v. 3; see Jer 31:33)? How do you write on it? What do you write? Why (see Ps 119:9,11)?
- Solomon seems to be quite concerned about adultery and prostitution (ch. 2; 5; 6; 7). Why? How has sexual sin affected Solomon's own life, heritage, integrity, and parenting? What is the result of marital disloyalty that causes biblical writers to speak forcefully against it?
- Can adultery and prostitution also be symbolic of all wrongdoing, which leads one astray from God? Why do you think so?
- When was the last time some smooth talker convinced you to do or buy something that was against your better judgment? What did you learn from the experience? What did the lesson learned cost you?
- In shopping for a church, do you always ask up front what membership will cost you in the end? Or do you "buy now and pay later," little knowing what the full cost will be? Why?
- In seeking God's will, by what means does he divert your attention from a wrong course of action? Or do you usually find out only after it's too late?
- How then does God "advertise" his will and persuade you to buy into it: (a) He abides by "full disclosure" standards? (b) God wants you to "buy first and pay later," as otherwise you might never buy? (c) God wants you to fully count the cost first before making any decision of faith? (d) Fully trusting, in a childlike way?
- In which of these areas can you use help?
- I will ... What has the Holy Spirit revealed to us in this passage? How can I apply it to my life this week?
- You can ... Who do you know who needs to hear this? Feel free to share with others by social media links at the bottom of this.
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